Chapter 205 I'm Afraid It Wasn't a Fire

After the tea fell into his stomach, Liu Tongzhi's uneasy and panicked heart not only did not calm down at all, but became more intense.

Even the hand holding the tea cup was trembling slightly, and his lips murmured, "Twenty thousand...twenty thousand dan! It's over, the heads are not saved!"

"Sir!" The warehouse manager hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his hand to prevent the tea from spilling.

He advised in a low voice, "It's not too late to make amends. It's not like there are no grain merchants in the city. We have to deal with the investigation first. The imperial envoy hasn't left yet!"

"Yes, yes!" Liu Tongzhi came to his senses and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

The smart IQ has occupied the high ground again, and the top priority is to get over first. We'll figure out what to do next. If we can't get past the present, everything we talk about will be false.

So Liu Tongzhi grabbed the warehouse manager's hand with his backhand and pulled him out the door, "Follow me to see the prefect! This matter is too big for me to hide alone. Sooner or later, the secret will be exposed. It's better to confess it from the beginning."

The two of them were running at a slow pace, with sweat on their faces and disheveled hair, causing the people around them to look at them sideways.

But the two of them couldn't care less, and they didn't dare to stop for a moment. They didn't take a breath until they opened the door.

"Old Liu, you came as soon as you came, why did you bring someone with you?" He Zhifu put down his pen, a little confused.

If you are not drinking tea in the duty room at this time, why are you here? He even brought someone with him. It wouldn’t be nice to hear this kind of thing spread out!

Could it be that he also knew that the imperial envoy was coming to inventory the official warehouse? Even if you know, there’s no need to be in such a hurry, right?

"Lao He, something...has happened!" Liu Tongzhi was out of breath, and his words were a bit choppy.

He Zhifu smiled calmly, and as expected, he guessed, "Old Liu, isn't it just the imperial envoy who came to inspect the warehouse? Look at how anxious you are! It's okay, I have checked on time in the past few months, and every grain of grain has been inspected on time. No less!”

"We are not afraid of checking!"

When he said this, He Zhifu patted the table with great pride. He is aboveboard, what are he afraid of?

"No, no! Afraid, we have to be afraid!" Liu Tongzhi quickly pressed He Zhifu's hand and signaled the warehouse manager to close the door with his eyes.

After the door closed, he leaned into his ear and whispered, "Lao He, just now the official warehouse manager came to report that there is a shortage of 20,000 tons of grain in the official warehouse."

"Varied......"

Just as He Zhifu exclaimed in surprise, Liu Tongzhi quickly covered his mouth. Begged, "Lao He, don't shout. If the news leaks, both of us will be killed!"

After hesitating for a moment, He Zhifu clapped his hands and slumped down on the chair. Before he could speak, tears were already flowing out.

He has only been here four months! I originally thought it was Gao Sheng, but now it's better, Gao Sheng has become Ascension!

"Old Liu, what do you think you're here for? Aren't you pulling my back?"

He Zhifu, who looked aggrieved, blamed him, and touched the drops of water on his face again and again, not knowing whether they were tears or sweat.

He hated it. If he didn't know, it would be nothing more than a reduction in his official position. If he had a relationship, he might just be demoted. When Liu Tongzhi comes, he will definitely lose his demotion and become beheaded!

"Lao He! It's not too late to make amends!" Liu Tongzhi quickly told the warehouse manager the idea he had given him.

"You mean..."

"It's impossible for an imperial envoy to stay in the south of the Yangtze River all his life, right? If the autumn harvest is made up, everything will be fine!" Liu Tongzhi followed the temptation, fearing that he and the prefect would not agree.

After thinking carefully for a moment, He Zhifu's originally cloudy eyes suddenly lit up. This is a good idea, but is it just too late?

"Is it in time?"

"Twenty thousand dan is not much..."

The two of them seemed to be unable to answer the question, but they both agreed that it was feasible. After all, there was no other way. Besides, it's better to die later than to die early.

After lowering his head and thinking for a moment, he stood up with the magistrate and nodded, "I sent people to make appointments with those grain merchants, but I only assisted them from the side."

"Lao He, thank you very much!" Liu Tongzhi understood that to be able to achieve this level, He Zhifu had already tried his best.

After all, it is within your own responsibilities. It is not good to let others deal with the aftermath!

After a few polite words, he and the prefect relaxed. Just as he was about to ask his servants to invite the grain merchants in the city, there were footsteps outside the door.

He and Liu Tongzhi looked at each other, with obvious doubts in their eyes.

"Lao He, what's wrong with you?"

"No, what about you?"

"No."

When the two of them were thinking that they should not look for them, there was a knock on the door. A voice came from outside, "My lord, I have something to report!"

He Zhifu waved to the warehouse manager to open the door, while he wiped his sweat, straightened his clothes and said, "Come in!"

The person who came was a petty official. As soon as he opened the door and walked in, he hurriedly knelt down and said, "Sir, the Imperial Envoy has an order. All officials from the yamen must go to greet you. No one is allowed to be absent!"

"Telling me to buy some official warehouse!"

"What did you say?" they both exclaimed at the same time.

The clerk was startled. Isn't it just to check the official warehouse? Why is the reaction so big? I thought there was a fire.

So I had to repeat, "Sir, the imperial envoy is here and wants to inspect the official warehouses!"

He Zhifu and Liu Tongzhi collapsed almost at the same time. It's over, it's over! Now the situation is really at risk.

"Go out, we'll be there in a moment." He Zhifu was sweating and waved to the clerk to go out.

Turning to look at Liu Tongzhi, he stood up tremblingly on the chair, "Let's go, Old Liu, I just hope that the imperial envoy will not be an upright official..."

"Let's go."

The two of them supported each other, their hands were weak and their legs were weak, and they staggered when they walked. Fortunately, there was a warehouse manager. Holding them from left to right, they were finally transported to the sedan chair.

The two of them had nothing to do, but they were tired and sweaty because of the warehouse manager.

"Damn, those two dog officials, it's better to chop them off, they didn't tire me to death! They are really heavier than pigs!"

......

At the ferry, the other officials were in place early, but the prefect and the co-prefect were not there.

But people didn't care. It was normal for them to come late because of urgent official business. They decided that all officials would come to greet them when they were unhappy.

Isn't it too arrogant?

"Make way! Make way!"

The two sedan chairs stopped, and the sedan bearers shouted for everyone to make way. The prefect and the co-prefect came late, staring at the river with panic and shaking hands, and didn't even hear the greetings of their colleagues.

Soon a boat gradually came on the river. As soon as it docked, the ropes were not tied. He, the prefect, and Liu, the co-prefect, ignored the eyes of the boatman and his colleagues, and jumped on the boat in a few steps.

Zhao just stuck his head out of the cabin and saw two people in official uniforms. Although he knew the purpose of the visit, he still pretended not to understand.

He smiled and asked, "My Lords, why are you so anxious? Zhao is not going to get off the boat. Why don't we go to the government office to talk?"

The two of them waved their hands hurriedly and lowered their voices, "My Lord Zhao, it's important! Let's talk first."

"Isn't it against the rules?"

"No one knows!" He Zhifu covered it with his sleeves and quietly gestured with two fingers.

But Zhao immediately reached out and grabbed his fingers, his expression unchanged, "Come in. It's broad daylight, it's not good..."

The three of them returned to the cabin together and sat down. Zhao asked knowingly, "What's the important matter? Could it be that something happened to the government warehouse just because I came here?"

"Hahahaha, it can't be such a coincidence?"

"Ah?"

It's such a coincidence! The two men kept shouting in their hearts, and said with difficulty, "You may not believe it if I tell you. Just now, when the warehouse manager was checking, he found that the official warehouse was on fire and 20,000 dan of grain turned into ashes."

"What a pity! It's really a pity!"

Zhao Jue folded his hands and looked at the two men with a smile, as if saying: Make it up, keep making it up.

The two looked at each other and talked endlessly again, explaining, complaining, and crying out for injustice.

"Hehe." Zhao Jue's expression did not change, staring at the two men thoughtfully, as if he wanted to see through their hearts.

"I'm afraid it wasn't a fire?"

He Zhifu looked at Liu Tongzhi with a little blame, and smiled and responded, "It's still a fire..."

It doesn't matter what reason you use, you have to go in for an inspection anyway. So Zhao Jue didn't care, he stood up and walked out.

Only when he got to the door did he turn around and say, "No matter what the reason, we still have to investigate!"

"It's just business..."

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